Corporate Governance

Another digital-native retailer is going the mall route. And this one is aimed at shoppers who love to play with makeup.

NYX Professional Makeup on Oct. 2 will open its first-ever physical store, at the Westfield Santa Anita Mall, Arcadia, California. The Los Angeles-based brand, which was acquired by L'Oreal in June 2014, says it plans to roll out additional stores nationwide and globally in select urban centers throughout 2016.

All manner of store operational processes will soon be under review at Target following the appointment of a new executive whose role is to simplify, optimize and make the retailer more agile.

Sam’s Club and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation are investing in an innovative program to help spawn the next generation of entrepreneurs.

Former Save-A-Lot CFO Rob Anderson has joined PetSmart as CFO.

Anderson assumes his new role at the nation’s largest pet specialty retailer on Oct. 5 amid rumors that PetSmart and Petco are exploring a merger. Anderson is a veteran financial executive who most recently served as CFO of the $4.8 billion discount grocery chain Save-A-Lot.

IBM aims to increase the solutions and services it offers the retail industry with two new centers. On Sept. 24, IBM opened a new global headquarters for IBM Commerce and new hub for its Watson artificial intelligence platform in San Francisco.

In addition, IBM is partnering with The Fung Group on a new large-scale laboratory for rapid experimentation with omnichannel retail technologies, which opened in Shanghai, China on Sept. 24.

E-commerce sales surged at Pier 1 Imports during the second quarter, but the retailers overall sales grew less than expected and the company lowered its full year outlook.

Total sales increased 2.7% to $430 million and same-store sales increased 2.5%. Excluding the effects of the stronger U.S. dollar, total sales increased 4% and same-store sales increased 3.8%.

Retailers always take a gamble when targeting promotions, and The Limited is doing its best to improve the odds. The specialty apparel retailer is using the First Insight InsightTargeting predictive analytics solution to determine which products and prices will appeal most among specific customer segments.

InsightTargeting combines data from First Insight's real-time consumer engagements with behavioral data from CRM and social media platforms.

Veteran J.C. Penney merchant John Tighe has been elevated to fill the role of executive VP and chief merchant held by Liz Sweney who is retiring.

The change, announced Sept. 23, was effective immediately. Tighe and Sweeney joined the company in 2002 and 2000, respectively, and Sweney served as chief merchant since March 2012. She will remain with the company in an advisory role through year end.